Howard the Duck #1 (Marvel – Templeton / Bobillo / Sosa / Pereyra) – Howard has always been one of my guilty pleasures. The classic Marvel series attacked issue of the day and the absurdities of pop culture, and all the while not taking itself too series… sort of the John Stewart of his day. Well, Howard is back, with a fresh creative team and a post-Civil War Marvel universe to wonder in. Like most of the other “less-than-headline” Marvel projects in the last year… it is a pleasant surprise. Immediately, the art scared me… I thought “goodness, is this crack-head Howard?”. Once I got through the shock of having a different artistic style and feel to a character I love (we had to do it for Battlestar too), it was a very funny and enjoyable read. We find Howard trying to find his place in a world that he does not belong too… getting the ultimate foreigner viewpoint. In this issue alone we get satire involving what qualifies as art, nudity in acting, hunting, immigration and Marvel’s Civil War. Howard the Duck is very much like Borat… except funny and non-over-the-top offensive. While he not the Howard of my childhood, I look forward to seeing what tales lay ahead for him and the beautiful Beverly. If you are more interested in intellectual humor and satire and less in mutant and symbiotes… Howard might be up your alley.